Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?
Here is the result of last chapter's cliffhanger and the second part of the two-part Christmas special. I hope you all had a merry Christmas, and, as usual, if any mistakes are spotted please inform me. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story.
Christmas Special 2010: Part 2
We were in the largest cavern so far. In front of us, there was a frozen lake. In the middle of the lake, there was a fairly large island which was covered with snow. A large, fat man dressed in a Santa suit stood on this island. The only differences were that he wore a helmet instead of a Santa hat, and his beard was a little greyer than Santa's snow-white beard. He was covered with cuts and bruises and his clothes were slightly ripped. I could safely assume that this man was Thorvar. A gargantuan sack stood on the floor next to him. There was a snow imp standing on his shoulder.
Strange creatures that looked like overgrown crabs with green growths on the shell were attacking Thorvar. He was putting up an excellent fight. He was knocking these crab-like creatures left and right. More crabs were coming, either falling from the ceiling or crawling from a hole in the ice. Far behind the island, on the other side of this lake, there was another opening that led deeper into the dungeon, but I doubted we'd need to go through there now that we'd found Thorvar.
Just as we went to skate across the ice to help Thorvar a strange force picked us up and carried us upwards. I struggled against this force, confused. I heard a cackle from behind me. This force turned me around, and I was faced with Jack Frost.
He hadn't changed much since I'd last encountered him. He was still tall and gangly. His clothes were black and, as usual, he was covered with snow and icicles. His long, black hair was frozen solid. Icicles were growing on his skin.
"So we meet again, Mainiac97," Jack Frost sneered. "Don't even think of teleporting. I've cast a teleportation blocking spell."
"Jack!" I yelled. "What are you doing? What's happening? Explain yourself!"
"It's fairly simple," Jack Frost snickered. "These crabs are Heim crabs and are native to Daemonheim. They have been commanded to attack Thorvar, that imp, and anybody else that impedes their attack. I haven't possessed them; I don't stoop to that level. I have simply used some basic hypnotising techniques on them.
"I understood that Thorvar was meant to be meeting up with a snow imp to take some building materials to the Heimland Games. I discovered a secluded, icy cave/dungeon in the mountainous areas and I cast the hypnotic spells on the crabs. Heim crabs are normally fairly small, but these crabs are a special breed of Heim crab that are much bigger and much more dangerous in groups.
"I waited until I saw him waiting for the imp, and I tempted him up to the mountains and the cliffs with noises that would have attracted his curiosity. He went up to the mountains and I got the crabs to ambush him and, with my help, I got them to carry him deep into the caves. The imp followed us, following the directions of an old fisherman. This particular dungeon can be very hazardous at times, and we struggled slightly getting here. You can see this when you pass through the cavern full of icicles."
"Why would you want to do such a thing to Thorvar?" I demanded. "You've potentially ruined the Heimland Games!"
"I loathe the Heimland Games, and I loathe Fremennik people and barbarians in general," Jack Frost hissed. "I think they're obnoxious, proud, horrible people. I wasn't very happy when I heard that their winter games were going to be held in the Land of Snow. This is my way of expressing it."
"Why do you hate the Fremennik people?" I questioned angrily. "Perhaps you don't agree with their way of life, but this is not the way to express it."
"A friend of mine lost his life because of those barbaric people!" Jack Frost exclaimed. "You just have to walk into their villages to see how violent and obnoxious they are! I simply cannot stand them!"
I grappled some more against the force that was holding me upwards, but I failed. I glared daggers at Jack Frost, who was grinning evilly at Thorvar. I really hated him; I couldn't put it into words. He hated the Fremennik people for no good reason, so he was content with wrecking their Christmas event. It annoyed me to see him get away with such treachery. I thought he was a wicked person before, and today he'd secured my opinion of him.
The force that was holding me up seemed to disappear, and I fell among the Heim crabs. They instantly turned on me, hissing and snapping. I smashed Silverlight into a few, sending them flying backwards. One managed to strike me across the cheek, creating a large scar. I kicked it away. It attempted to hit me again, but I successfully sent Silverlight flying through it. It fell back, dead.
This pattern continued, and I began growing tired. I never let down my defence. I soon began looking for means of escape. I saw an opening in the sea of crabs, and I fought through them to get to it. I soon realised I was on ice, and I slipped. I tried to get to my skates in my bag, but more crabs jumped on me and I couldn't.
At one stage a particularly large crab jumped onto my back and clung onto it for dear life. I tried to buck it off, but it didn't budge. I managed to elbow it off after much fighting. It pounced again and slashed my arm with its sharp pincers. Blood began leaking from the wound. I screeched in pain. I charged towards it with Silverlight, but it knocked Silverlight out of my grasp and into the crowd of Heim crabs. I cursed, and I tried forcing myself through the crabs to recover it, but the massive crab held me back by grabbing my belt. I spun around and kicked the crab. Nothing happened. I pulled my hammer out furiously.
The brawl continued for a while before I finally managed to reclaim Silverlight and finish the gargantuan crab off. I soon grew very weary of fighting and I found myself gasping for breath. I eyed Thorvar, who was relentless in his attempt to escape. I envied him in that respect. I watched Jack Frost hover above us as we continued battling for our lives. He was giggling.
I could see the logic in Jack Frost's plan. We would soon collapse of tiredness and he'd have the option of leaving us to die, or taking us elsewhere. I imagined that either way he'd dispose of the building supplies for the Heimland Games.
I searched and searched for ways of escape. We'd never be able to kill all of the crabs. There seemed to be an infinite amount of them.
A crab leaped upwards and tried pounding my face, but I kicked to the floor. I smashed Silverlight straight through it and I heard unpleasant crunching sounds. I removed Silverlight and kicked the crab aside. My heart dropped. I'd stabbed the crab too hard, and it had gone straight through and cracked the ice! The ice seemed very sturdy, because it could hold the weight of many, many crabs as well as several humans and imps, but I'd obviously gone too far. The crack spread right throughout the lake until the surface was entirely covered with cracks.
There was a second of silence, which was broken with a gigantic smashing noise. The whole lake lurched to one side as the layer of ice smashed. Many crabs got caught up underneath and fell to the bottom of the lake. Luckily, I was standing on a large piece of ice and I managed to hold my ground.
I gestured to the others that we should probably leave. The imps, agile as ever, jumped back towards the cave opening that we'd come through. I followed suit, slipping and evading death many times. I arrived, and Amy11, Capablanca, and Osrie1 arrived not soon after. We turned around and saw Thorvar swimming through the water and ice. He was balancing his sack on his back so it didn't get wet. I marvelled at his amazing strength. I figured that he was used to it, since he was a Fremennik.
We spotted Jack Frost pursuing us. We turned to leave the cave swiftly, but we stopped in our tracks when we heard a sonorous roar. The roof of the cave began crumbling, and a colossal white hairy creature fell through the roof and onto the island. I assumed it was the fully-grown yeti. It was a terrifying creature, with long yellow teeth, enormous hands, and a loud roar. It smashed its fist into the floor, causing a small tremor.
It began grabbing and eating Heim crabs that hadn't fallen into the icy water. It spotted us, snarled, and jumped into the water. It flew through the water towards us in several strokes. Jack Frost panicked and started sending spells towards it. The spells glanced off it. It grew angry, grabbed Jack Frost, and smashed him into a nearby wall. Jack Frost fell to the floor, unconscious. Thorvar threw him over his shoulders. We immediately began fleeing the cave. The yeti pursued.
The yeti chased us, collapsing walls around it in its rage. We appeared in the cave that we'd mined through. The yeti flew through, and the whole wall collapsed, causing massive tremors. The whole cave was now shaking around us, and large chunks of rock were falling. I was almost knocked unconscious at one point.
We ran into the tunnel with the floor that was covered with ice. We didn't have any time to stop and put skates on, so we simply skidded across the ice, trying not to fall. We didn't need to, though; the yeti jumped in, jumped on the ice, and all of the ice cracked, making it easier to get through.
We fled into the cave with the stone angel. Gigantic chunks of rock were falling from the roof. This cave was in the process of disintegrating. We continued running into the cave with the broken stone switch and the smashed icicles. The yeti continued chasing us. The yeti literally jumped through the cave wall to get to us. The whole cave system was crumbling around us. We fled the cave just in time, before everything collapsed behind us, burying the yeti and destroying the cave.
We fell to the floor, gasping for breath and sighing with relief. We were alive, safe, and Thorvar was with us.
We all looked at the unconscious Jack Frost with disgust. We all cast bind spells on him, and the snow imps cast a teleportation blocking spell on him. He soon regained consciousness, and began yelling at us. The snow imps silenced him.
"I must say, thank you very much for saving me, my imp friend, and the supplies," Thorvar thanked. "I'd probably be either still fighting, unconscious or dead right now if it weren't for you. Now we can return these building materials and the Heimland Games can go on as planned." He opened his sack and gasped with surprise. A Heim crab crawled out. We all pulled out our weapons warily, but Thorvar put his hand up and we stepped back.
"This Heim crab won't harm anybody," he laughed. "For one, it's a solitary crab. If it tried we could all pile it and easily kill it. It's no longer under Jack Frost's hypnotic spell so it has no reason to harm anybody." Thorvar knelt down and petted the creature, which showed signs of happiness. "Does anybody want to keep this crab as a pet?" Thorvar asked. "We can't take it back in there, and I've already got some Heim crabs. However, if nobody else wants it I can keep it." Everybody stepped back.
I examined the creature pitifully. Nobody wanted to keep it because they were inclined to believe it was harmful, or disgusting. I actually found it quite cute when it wasn't trying to kill me. I stepped forward, and petted it. Thorvar grinned at me happily.
"What do Heim crabs eat?" I asked.
"Crabs aren't fussy. They'll eat whatever they can find that's edible, mostly dead fish remains and such." Thorvar replied. "In general, though, they'll eat algae, molluscs, fungi, and worms. The fishing shop in Daemonheim sells pots of specialised crab food. I can get you some if you want." He fished in his pocket, and produced a pot with an image of a crab on the side. He opened the pot, and a small amount of green-brown flakes fell into his hand. He offered these flakes to the crab, which jumped up eagerly and began sucking up the flakes with its mouth. He offered the pot to me, and I pocketed it.
We chatted with each other and recovered from the events of the cave. I asked Thorvar whether the cave was a dungeon, and he told me that it was a minor dungeon. It wasn't an 'official' dungeon. He told me that the 'official' Daemonheim dungeons were much more difficult and much more dangerous. I accepted his response. I now understood why the fisherman yelled at me when I went to climb the stone stairs earlier.
The snow imps teleported us back to the games. When people spotted Thorvar everybody burst into applause and crowded around us. The crab stayed close to my feet and followed me. The lead imp with the icy loudspeaker took the bag and began removing the contents. Thorvar ushered us through the gate on our right into a different enclosure. In this enclosure there was a very long table with countless chairs by it. A large Christmas tree stood on the far end. There was a smaller enclosure on the far end behind the tree, and I assumed it was a kitchen of some sort. Snow imps ran back and forth, but it wasn't as crowded as the main enclosure.
"This is an exclusive feast enclosure," Thorvar explained. "Nobody can enter here freely. To enter this enclosure you must have a very special ticket that can be bought with the tokens won in tournaments and competitions. This ticket will also allow you free entry into the Heimland Games. I'd like to offer the four of you these tickets because you've proven yourselves worthy of entering the feast." I nodded. He gave us a ticket each, which we pocketed.
"I didn't tell you to come in here specifically to tell you about this enclosure, though," Thorvar laughed. "I want to reward all four of you." I looked at Osrie1, Amy11 and Capablanca staring up at Thorvar excitedly. Thorvar produced several small snowman models from his pocket. "These are called Heimland souvenirs," Thorvar told us. "They can do many things. Point them upwards and shake them." I shook mine, and it glowed for a few seconds. Several snowballs suddenly exploded from it and flew into the air. Several snow imps shouted at us as snowballs rained down upon them.
"Point it towards someone and shake once," Thorvar commanded. I pointed it towards Capablanca and shook once. A snowball flew towards Capablanca at very high speed. He spluttered indignantly. "Also, if you tap a snowman with it you'll get a pleasant surprise." We all thanked Thorvar for the gifts.
"Here's another reward," Thorvar said. He handed us all a sled each. These weren't massive sleds, like Santa's. These were the portable ones that people could sit in. The sleds were made out of sleek, strong wood. There was enough room on the sled for two people. It was quite large and heavy but I could manage to carry it. "You can use that on the sledding slopes in the Heimland Games, or it could be used on any icy/snowy slopes. I felt it would be more convenient for you if you had these, instead of renting the creaky pieces of scrap wood the imps at the slope have to offer." We all thanked Thorvar. "Come back in here in an hour and the games should be officially open," Thorvar informed us. "Oh, also, now that you've used the souvenir you should have the ability to use a brand new emote. This emote is called the 'seal of approval'. Think about a seal and concentrate on that picture of a seal. Fill your heart with the will to use this emote, like your life depends on it." I obliged, and suddenly I transformed into a seal. I let off a strange noise, and I slipped around for a few seconds before I transformed back into a human. I sighed with relief.
I left the Heimland Games with my pet Heim crab and I then teleported back to my house. I spent the next hour building a gated enclosure for my Heim crab in my pet garden. I saw Gobbles the turkey eyeing the Heim crab suspiciously. I also spent some time trying to come up with a creative name for the crab. I returned to Diango from Draynor to claim two previous rewards. I claimed the only two remaining rewards: a special Christmas tree called a 'Wintumber tree' which glittered, and a marionette puppet. I set up the tree in my house, and I soon decided to go back to the Heimland Games to see if everything was ready.
I approached the cupboard, flashed my ticket, and the imp there allowed me entry. When I stepped into the Heimland Games I was pleasantly surprised. In the centre of the gated enclosures there was a gigantic Christmas tree. There were three big gated enclosures. The first one was filled with snow and barriers constructed from snow. People were throwing snowballs at each other and hiding behind the barriers.
In the second enclosure, a sheet of ice covered the floor, and people were skating in the ice. Near this enclosure there was a little stall with a snow imp behind it. Behind the snow imp skates were piled up. The third one was also filled with snow, but this snow was being used to make snowmen instead. There was a box nearby which was filled with different hats and scarves for the snowmen.
I walked past the gates to my left and I appeared at the top of a very high hill. I couldn't see the bottom. There was a small hut nearby and I spotted sleds piled up inside. People were jumping on their sleds and speeding down the hill. There was a footpath on the far side of the hill so people could get off at a lower point. I could see people walking up these footpaths.
I walked back into the main enclosure, and I walked through the final gate into the enclosure I hadn't explored yet. In front of me there were several long paths covered with ice with obstacles on them. On the side nearest to me, people were touching a blue orb and turning into seals. They then slid across the ice, trying to avoid the obstacles.
I approached the blue orb nervously. I touched it, and I felt my body morph. I turned into a seal. I slid across the ice on a lopsided angle. I slipped and slid, almost smashing into obstacles such as snow piles, rocks, pits, trees and scrap wood. I realised that I'd require some practice at the seal-sliding game. I finally arrived at the other end. There was a portal. I went through the portal and appeared back at the start in human form.
There was such a large array of possible activities to do here. I decided to build a snowman. I remembered trying to build a snow-Mainiac97 last year, so I did the same again this year. I tried to reconstruct myself, only ending up horribly destroying my snow-Mainiac97. I stared forlornly at the disgusting creature I'd built, as the people around me roared with laughter. I brutally murdered the snow-Mainiac97 and replaced it with a classic snowman. I gave this snowman a top hat and a nice scarf. I tapped the snowman with my souvenir, and the snowman came to life! I watched with glee as the snowman moved around and danced.
The next few days were mostly spent in the Heimland Games. I could never get tired of sledding down the hill, skating across the ice, and practicing seal-sliding. I won many snow-balling and sledding competitions, earning me many tokens. I was taking part in a skating tournament. I'd bought some red paint for my sled and some candy canes using my tokens. I ate at the feast in the Heimland Games on a daily rate.
I also met the Ice Queen and Santa, who feasted with us on Christmas Eve. Santa thanked me for helping save the Heimland Games and promised that he'd give me a present on Christmas Day. The Ice Queen informed me that Jack Frost had been punished severely. I didn't know what that meant. Thorvar also showed up at the Christmas Eve feast. Seeing Santa stand next to Thorvar unnerved me. The similarities were uncanny.
I received many, many gifts on Christmas Day. A very large sack sat by the end of my bed in the morning. I hoped my sack hadn't given Santa any back problems. I received a lot of money from people I barely knew. Altogether I'd gained over 100k from different people. Santa and the Ice Queen sent me a box of Christmas food. Sir Amik Varze sent me an armour-polishing set, and Duke Horacio sent me an experience lamp. Farmer Fred sent me some fruit and vegetables as usual, and the Glory Troopers worked together to buy me a diamond-studded mirror.
Thorvar sent me many pots of food for my Heim crab. The white knights (Jamie and Capablanca mainly) bought me a white woodcutting axe and a pickaxe made from the same metal as white knight armour. Osrie1 gave me several booklets full of vouchers and Amy11 bought me some cutlery and some glasses.
I also received my annual greasy package from the Noob Exterminators. I didn't open it, I burned it instead. I didn't know what they sent me because when I burned it I heard a screech and I smelled something acrid.
My most memorable present, though, was a very surprising present from King Roald of Varrock. It was an envelope, with a piece of glossy paper inside, which read:
To Mainiac97,
You are cordially invited to our New Year's feast in the Varrock Palace. Join us at 9:00pm on New Year's Eve for a night of feasting, festivity and fireworks. A special firework will be lit and will set off on the New Year. You are also invited to bring two friends with you.
Yours sincerely, King Roald and Queen Ellamaria
I was looking forward to meeting King Roald and enjoying the feast. I didn't need to think too much about which two friends I was going to bring with me (although they probably received invitations as well because they played key roles in the war in Falador).
I lay in my bed, chatting animatedly with Eek and admiring my presents. I'd also sent out presents, and I hoped everybody appreciated my presents.
I really liked this year's Christmas event rewards. Altogether, I'd received my pet Heim crab, the Heimland souvenir, my sled, the 'seal of approval' emote, and my two previous event rewards from Diango (these being the Wintumber tree and the marionette puppet).
After a while, I got dressed and left for the Heimland Games. They were holding a gigantic feast later today. I entered the cupboard, looking forward to a day of sledding, skating, feasting and generally enjoying. It had been a great Christmas, and I looked forward to the New Year.
I hope that was to your liking. As I pointed out in the previous chapter, this Christmas special was loosely based on the Jagex Christmas 2010 special, but I've made major changes to plot, characters and context.
I have two questions for you. My first question is, what should Mainiac97 name his Heim crab? This question is similar to the Thanksigiving special's question. I will pick my favourite suggestion as the crab's new name.
My second question is, so far, what has been your favourite out of my seasonal specials? I'm curious to find out because your feedback now will help me adjust future event special chapters accordingly.
The next chapter will be my New Year's Day special, which will be coming fairly soon. You can guess the setting from what I've said in this chapter.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Until next time, toodles!